nanoHUB Resources for K-12

Resources for Grade School Students

Dragonfly TV
An on going series on PBS that ventures into modern day science, Dragonfly TV makes it easy for children from elementary school to middle school to understand. With games, experiments, and a message board where kids can ask their questions about science, kids will have fun and learn at the same time.

nanooze
Created for kids, nanooze is a place to hear about the latest exciting stuff in science and technology. What kind of stuff? Discoveries about the world that is too small to see and making tiny things. You will find interesting articles about recent discoveries and what it might mean for the future.

Purdue EPICS Team Animations for Children
This is a great starting point for kids to start to learn about nanotechnology. Travel with Martin and Laura into the nanoworld to understand just how small a nanometer is. Also, learn about nano-microscopes using Legos; find out how nanotechnology relates to seeing colors and more! Kids will enjoy these fun, animated presentations.

Resources for Middle School Students

Generation NANO
Here you will find a series of interactive online activities to learn more about nanotechnology and nanoscience. The activities are geared towards 12-14-year-olds.

NanoDays - NanoTrees: Making Paper Stronger than Steel, Robert Moon, Purdue University
Learn about how nanotechnology can allow you to make paper that is stronger than steel! Also learn about where extra-strong paper could be used, including the medical and construction industries.

Resources for High School Students

Mark Ratner Interview on Nanotechnology, Mark Ratner, Northwestern University
Dr. Mark Ratner talks about what the future holds for nano technology and where it is likely to head. Dr. Ratner relates nanotechnology to other sciences and the future role of modeling.

A Gentle Introduction to Nanotechnology and Nanoscience, Mark Ratner, Northwestern University
Dr. Mark A. Ratner gives a lecture about the basics and implications of nanotechnology. By starting with how big a nanometer is, Dr. Ratner begins to put nanotechnology into perspective and their potential. He gives a good overview and the path that nanotechnology will take.

Nanotubes and Nanowires: One-dimensional Materials, Tim Sands, Purdue University
Dr. Tim Sands speaks about nanotubes and nanowires explaining their applications and properties. Dr. Sands goes into further detail and explains what happens to their electronic properties, optical properties, mechanical properties, thermal properties, and chemical properties. High school students who are looking into nanostructures will benefit from his lecture.

Solar Cells, Richard Schwartz, Purdue University
Prof. Schwartz presents a basic view of how solar cells work and their evolutionary history.

Nano*High: Nanoscience for High School Students, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Nano*High is a series of general topic lectures by UC Berkeley professors and LBNL senior scientists conducting research from nanoscience to molecular medicine, and climate change to astrophysics.

Physics for Future Presidents, Jerry Woodall, Purdue University
Based on the book Physics for Future Presidents by Richard Muller, this course provides a liberal arts style education in physics that could be important for you to understand if you were the president of the United States. This course is an opportunity for high school physics clubs to engage in similar discussions.

Crystal Viewer Tool
This tool can be used to visualize the nanostructure of different materials (Silicon, graphene, diamond, Buckyball, etc.). It is a helpful tool for material, electronics, and chemistry courses.

Resources for Teachers

Thinking Small, Carl Batt, Cornell University
Dr. Carl Batt discusses the challenges of enhancing the public’s understanding of nanotechnology and its ability to comprehend a scale of size over several orders of magnitude. Dr. Batt gives an overview of creating the traveling museum exhibit “Too Small to See,” which has successfully faced the challenges of bringing nanoscale phenomena to the human-scale.

K-12: Introduction to Quantum Wells
David Beck, Larry Gatz and Mark M. Budnik of Valparaiso University created a simple experiment for upper middle school and high school students that introduce the idea of quantum wells and tunneling. The only supplies needed are the students and movable desks.

Purdue EPICS Team Animations for Children
Here you will find a collection of animated presentations geared towards children that cover the very basics of nanotechnology in an enticing way. These animations were part of a museum exhibit developed for the Children’s Museum. Topics covered include: picturing the size of a nanometer; the connection between nanotechnology and biology; scanning probe microscopes; molecular- and nano- manufacturing. Brought to you by the Lego Scanning Probe Microscope team, an EPICS project at Purdue University.